"Native American" and variations thereof (2)

[James A. Landau]

It might be interesting to quote from the "Native American Grave Protection
and Repatriation Act", which is probably about as politcally correct an Act
as Congress ever passed

[following quote is from a Web site whose URL I failed to record.  This may
be an earlier draft than the one enacted into law.].

Section 2 contains the following definitions:
      (7) "Indian tribe"  shall have the meaning given such term in section 4
of  the Indian Self Determination  and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b).
      (9) "Native American" means of, or relating  to, a tribe, people,  or
culture that is indigenous to the United States.
      (10) "Native  Hawaiian" means any individual  who is  a descendant of
the  aboriginal people who,  prior to  1778, occupied  and exercised
sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State of Hawaii.
      (15) "tribal land" means (A) all  lands within the exterior boundaries
of any Indian reservation;   (B) al l dependent Indian communities;  (C)
lands  conveyed to, or  subject to an interim conveyance  of,  Native
Corporations pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and  (D)
any lands  administered for  the benefit of  Native Hawaiians  pursuant to
the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, and section  4 of Public Law 86-3.


The words "Eskimo", "Inuit",  and "Aleut" do not occur in the text. It is
interesting that the word "Indian" occurs without definition in (15) (B) when
the text could easily have been more politically correct and read "all
dependent Native American communities."  Or is the Act specifically excluding
Eskimo and Native Hawaiian tribal lands from (15)(B)?

 The earliest usage of "Native American" that I know of occurs in "Native
American Church", which according to the Encyclopedia Britannica (15th
edition, 1987, volume 8 page 554 article "Native American Church") took that
name in 1918.

James A. Landau
Systems Engineer
FAA Technical Center (ACT-350/BCI)
Atlantic City Airport NJ 08405 USA

P.S. I do not know why the people called "Eskimo" in the United States are
known as "Inuit" in Canada.